Method and system for furnishing an on-line quote for an insurance product

ABSTRACT

A method and system for furnishing an on-line quote for an insurance product makes use of computer hardware and software to provide a user with an on-line, real-time quote. The system allows the user to enter user information and presents and/or recommends a variety of options, including coverages, liabilities, and/or deductibles to help the user determine insurance coverage. Upon entering the user data and coverage information, a quote is displayed for the user. Credit information and/or other information for the user may optionally be used in determining the quote.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/368,611 filed Feb. 10, 2009 which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/150,576 filed May 17, 2002, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 7,490,050 on Feb. 10, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/291,999 filed May 18, 2001, entitled“Method and System for Furnishing an On-Line Quote for an InsuranceProduct (QuickQuote)” and incorporated herein by reference.

This application is also a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/150,576, filed May 17, 2002, which isalso a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/860,679 filed May 18, 2001, entitled “Method and System forFurnishing an On-Line Quote for an Insurance Product”, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/206,007 filed May 19,2000, entitled “Method and System for Furnishing an On-Line Quote for anInsurance Product (QuickQuote)”, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of electroniccommerce, and more particularly to a method and system for providing auser with an on-line, real-time quote for an insurance product, such asan auto insurance product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Presently available on-line quoting tools for insurance products, suchas auto insurance, do not allow a user to receive real-time advice. Thecurrent environment consists, for example, of Hypertext Markup Language(HTML) forms that allow a user to enter some of the information neededfor the generation of auto quotes. That information is then emailed to acustomer support representative (CSR) via a Common Gateway Interface(CGI) process. The CSR subsequently contacts the user to gatheradditional information and generate a quote, for example, via a legacysystem. Thus, it is not possible for the user to receive real-timeadvice, such as the availability of different types of insuranceproducts or the various coverage requirements of different states.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a feature and advantage of the present invention to provide amethod and system for furnishing an on-line quote to a user for aninsurance product, such as auto insurance, which enables the quote to bepresented in real time, without the delay inherent, for example, withthe use of email.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to providea method and system for furnishing a real-time, on-line quote to a userfor an insurance product, such as auto insurance, which frees up CSRpersonnel resources to focus on the sale of policies and reduces costsin terms of CSR personnel.

It is a further feature and advantage of the present invention toprovide a method and system for furnishing an on-line quote to a userfor an insurance product, such as auto insurance, in which the upload ofinformation collected by the system also reduces costs, for example, byeliminating the need for CSR personnel to retype the information into ahost system for use in downstream systems.

It is an additional feature and advantage of the present invention toprovide a method and system for furnishing an on-line quote to a userfor an insurance product, such as auto insurance, in which data uploadedto a database is used for management information reporting.

To achieve the stated and other features, advantages and objects, thesystem and method for an embodiment of the present invention makes useof computer hardware and software to provide a user with an on-line,real-time quote for an insurance product, such as auto insurance. Thus,the system of the present invention allows the user to receive real-timeadvice, for example, about the different types of insurance productsavailable, or the various coverage requirements of different states,with all of the convenience of an on-line agent. The system provides anon-line auto quoting application that includes a coverage wizard whichprovides state-specific on-line counselling to help make insurancedecisions. Further, the system of the present invention provides aunique on-line quoting tool which enables the user to enter information,for example, about himself or herself, his or her income, his or herability to live without a car, and other similar types of informationabout the user's lifestyle. The application for an embodiment of thepresent invention then recommends to the user coverages and liabilities,deductibles, and similar items to help the user determine the bestinsurance coverage to meet his or her needs.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a user is allowed to log onto a web site and access an on-line quote application on a presentationserver via a link from the web site. The user is then allowed to enteruser data and coverage information on the presentation server, and thepresentation server retrieves deployable content profile information forthe user from a database. The deployable content profile information,for example, allows the user to be identified by an underwriter and/orallows the user to be directed to a customer support representative or aselected agent. In an aspect of the deployable content profileinformation, a business user is allowed to access a deployable contentadministration tool page. The business user is authenticated with ausername and password and is presented an administration tool screenpre-filled with data from existing files. In another aspect of thedeployable content profile information, an administration tool output iswritten to a file and/or the database.

If the user enters a vehicle identification number, a database query isexecuted by the presentation server, and auto information correspondingto the vehicle identification number is retrieved for the user from avehicle identification database by the presentation server. Otherwise, avehicle identification number is constructed for the user by thepresentation server utilizing user-entered make and model information inconjunction with the vehicle identification number database. The user isallowed to enter a request for the quote on the presentation server, andthe user data is formatted and transferred to a rating engine server viaa Java module. The user data is submitted to a knowledge-basedmanagement system module and database, which determine a tiercorresponding to the user data and return the tier to the rating engineserver. The rating engine server returns the requested quote to thepresentation server, which displays the quote for the user, and amanagement information database is updated with the user data and thequote.

If an indication of continued interest in the requested quote isreceived from the user by the presentation server, the user is presentedwith a client number associated with the quote, and the quote data issent to a computer telephony integration database. The process ofpresenting the client number involves, for example, transferringpre-fill data for the user to the rating engine server by thepresentation server, transferring formatted user data to a hostapplication via message queue series, generating the client number bythe host application, and returning the client number by the hostapplication through a message queue series return queue. The clientnumber is displayed for the user by the presentation server forreference in communicating with a customer support representative. Inaddition, the client number is logged in a management informationdatabase and/or recorded in a quote database.

In an alternate aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, thesystem likewise makes use of computer hardware and software to providethe user with an on-line, real-time quote for an insurance product, suchas auto insurance, but with changes, for example, to the applicationfunctionality and infrastructure. In an alternate embodiment of theinvention, the user at a computing device is allowed to enter basic userinformation, for example, on a background information page and/or adriver information page of an on-line quote system application via anon-line quote system web server. The user can log on to the on-linequote system web server direct, or the user can log on to anunderwriter's web site server and be redirected to the on-line quotesystem web site server.

When the user logs on and begins the quote process, the browser of theuser's computing device sends an on-line quote system page request tothe on-line quote system web server. If the page request is for aJavaServer Page, the on-line quote system web server forwards the pagerequest to an on-line quote system application server, and theapplication server processes the page request. Static Hypertext MarkupLanguage and image files are retrieved from the on-line quote systemapplication by the on-line quote system web server. Continuing with themethod and system of an alternate embodiment, the on-line quote systemapplication calls a common data entry system to request creditinformation for the user. The common data entry system receives therequest and invokes an insurance financial score credit transaction. Thecommon data entry system calls a report ordering warehouse to order aninsurance financial score report, and the report ordering warehousesends the credit information request to an outside credit informationsource. Upon receiving the requested credit information, the common dataentry system sends the credit information for the user to the on-linequote system application.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the user is allowed toenter a selection on the on-line quote system application via theon-line quote system web server for an assistance feature for choosing acoverage for the user. The assistance features available for selectionby the user include, for example, a coverage wizard feature that makescoverage recommendations for the user based on financial informationentered by the user and a direct-to-quote feature that generatescoverage choices for the user based on information previously entered bythe user. Other assistance features available for selection by the userinclude, for example, a coverage wizard feature that allows the user tounderstand coverage choices without entering financial information and ano-assistance feature that allows the user to choose coverage withoutguidance. Thereafter, the user is allowed to enter a selection ofcoverage for the user on the on-line quote system application via theon-line quote system web server.

Continuing with the method and system of an alternate embodiment, theuser is prompted for and allowed to enter underwriting information onthe on-line quote system application via the on-line quote system webserver. The on-line quote system application calls a rating engine ofthe common data entry system to request rating information for the userbased at least in part on the basic user information and at least inpart on the underwriting information. The on-line quote systemapplication passes at least part of the basic user information and atleast part of the underwriting information to the common data entrysystem rating engine, for example, via MessageQueue. The common dataentry system invokes a rating transaction and determines a correctpricing tier for the user via a knowledge-based management system moduleand determines underwriting knockouts, completeness, and a rating via areconciliation system. The rating information for the user is sent tothe on-line quote system application by the common data entry system,for example, via MessageQueue.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the on-line quote systemapplication displays a quote for the user for the selected coverage viathe on-line quote system web server based at least in part on the ratinginformation. If an indication of the user's continued interest in thequote is received by the on-line quote system application, for example,by clicking on a “Talk-to-Us” button, the on-line quote systemapplication uploads quote-related information for the user to a backendsystem and provides the user with a telephone number for a customerservice representative or agent via the on-line quote system web server.The quote-related information for the user is uploaded to an on-linequote system database by the on-line quote system application, and thequote-related information for the user is pulled from the on-line quotesystem database into a computer telephony integration system database bythe computer telephony integration system. The quote-related informationfor the user is sent to a host system on a mainframe computer viaMessageQueue Series by the on-line quote system application.

A fast-forward feature of the on-line quote system application for analternate embodiment of the present invention permits the user to modifyone or more previous entries without repeating the entire on-line quoteprocess. The fast-forward feature enables the user to go only to pagesin the on-line quote system application that require modification by theuser and displays only pages in the on-line quote system application forthe user that are affected by the modification.

Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbe set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part willbecome more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview ofkey components and the flow of information between key components forthe on-line insurance quote system for an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram which provides further detail regardingkey components and the flow of information between key components of thesystem for an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an overview of keycomponents and the flow of information between key components for anexample of the rating engine utilized for the system for an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a chart which illustrates examples of data tables for thesystem of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram which illustrates an example of a datatransfer protocol visual model utilized for the system for an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process ofgenerating a quote by the system for an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart which illustrates another example of the processof generating a quote by the system for an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of componentsof the deployable content functionality for an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process flowof the deployable content administration tool application for anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10 a-10 c show a schematic diagram that illustrates an example ofkey components and the flow of information between the key componentsfor this aspect of an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11 a-11 c show a flow chart which illustrates an example of theprocess of providing a real time on-line quote for a consumer by thesystem and method for the alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a table that shows examples of hardware utilized in theon-line quote system and method for an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a table that shows examples of software utilized in theon-line quote system and method for an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 14-35 show examples of Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens forthe on-line quote system for an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 36 a-36 d show a schematic flow chart which provides furtherdetail regarding the on-line quote process using the sample GUI screensshown in FIGS. 14-35.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now in detail to an embodiment of the present invention, anexample of which is illustrated in the accompanying attachments, FIG. 1is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview of keycomponents and the flow of information between key components for theon-line insurance quote system for an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 1, the system utilizes, for example, a hostfacility 10 with data service units/channel service units (DSUs) 12, 14,routers 16, 18, firewalls 20, 22, and servers 24, 26 connected over alocal area network (LAN) 28. The system also makes use, for example, ofan underwriter's facility 30 coupled to the host facility 10 with DSU32, router 34, firewalls 36, 38, servers 40, 42, 44, and 46, ratingengine 48, DMZ 50, and mainframe 52 connected over a LAN 54.

The system for an embodiment of the present invention provides an onlineauto quoting facility that provides a user with a real-time autoinsurance quote. The user can initiate contact with a personal lines CSRto purchase insurance based on that quote. The system connects to therating server 48, such as a proprietary rating engine available fromAgency Management System, Inc., pre-fills data into a host applicationand stores data to be retrieved via a computer telephony integration(CTI) system. The system application is written with Cold Fusion, Java,C, C++, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and JavaScript. An aspect ofthe system and method for an embodiment of the present invention isproviding the online quoting facility on affinity client websites. Thesystem enables the user to enter data into web pages constructed withCold Fusion Markup Language (CFML), HTML, and minimal JavaScript.

Once the user information is entered, the user has, for example, threedifferent levels of assistance for selecting coverages. One such levelis a coverage wizard, which can utilize financial data, entered by theuser and held only during the session, to make coverage recommendations.The user is allowed to use the coverage wizard to understand coverageswithout entering financial information. The user can also choose to haveno assistance and enter coverages without guidance. When the userrequests an online quote, a quote is presented to the user based uponthe information entered. The user can change information at any time andrequest an updated quote. If the user likes the quote, he or she cancontact a CSR. The CSR has the ability to retrieve the data in the hostapplication when the call is connected. The system enables, for example,graphical data entry via the Internet. The coverage wizard suggestscoverages based on user input. Information entered through the graphicalinterface is uploaded to the host system via IBM Message Queue (MQ).

In the past, an auto underwriter has used a web site as a vehicle forgetting quote requests for its insurance products via email, whichgenerates a fair amount of sold business for the underwriter. The systemfor an embodiment of the present invention goes beyond that process bypresenting the user with an online quote. The generation of the quoteonline frees up CSR personnel to concentrate on the sale of policies,thus reducing costs. The upload of information collected by the systemalso reduces costs by eliminating the need for CSR personnel to retypethe information into the host application for use in downstream systems.In addition, the data is uploaded to relational database systemsoftware, such as a Solaris Oracle database, to be used for managementinformation systems (MIS) reporting.

The intended audience for the system of an embodiment of the presentinvention is the general public. In an aspect of the present invention,the audience for the invention includes various affinity groups.Advertising campaigns, such as advertising on search engine portals andInternet Service Providers (ISPs), is another aspect of the system ofthe present invention, which can significantly increase the number ofquotes requested. Features of the system include, for example, aweb-based deliverable over the Internet; a coverage wizard to facilitatethe quoting process by calculating recommended coverage based on theinformation supplied by the user; a fast path quoting facility for thosewho know what coverages they need, application scalability to ensureavailability to a large volume of concurrent users; integration with thehost application, CTI and the auto insurer's downstream systems;real-time access to a vehicle identification number (VIN) database;real-time access to the rating engine 48 residing on the underwriter'sDMZ 50; and retention of pertinent information in database format foruse in MIS reporting.

The system for an embodiment of the present invention utilizes, forexample, a web-based application, which has three major components,including a front end which is referred to as the presentation layer.The presentation layer is developed using, for example, Cold Fusion, andruns on a web application server 24. The web application server 24communicates with the rating engine server 48 that provides comparativerates. Thus, the system makes use of the rating engine server 48 with aknowledge based system for underwriting owned by the underwriter, andfrom there it feeds data into the underwriter's CTI system, as well asback into the underwriter's host based system for issuance. The systemis available on the Internet and is accessed, for example, via an autoinsurer's web site and advertising click-through from external sites.The site accommodates a number of browsers and versions of thosebrowsers, such as Internet Explorer 3.0.2 or greater, NetscapeCommunicator 3.x or greater, and all AOL browsers 3.x or greater.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram which provides further detail regardingkey components and the flow of information between key components of thesystem for an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.Referring to FIG. 2, the hosting facility 10 includes, for example, theweb server 26 and web application server 24; the underwriter's DMZ 50includes, for example, the rating engine server 48; and theunderwriter's facility 30 includes, for example, a host application 56and database server 40. The system application consists of a webapplication development tool, such as web application server 24, arating engine server 48, an Oracle management information (MI) database92, a data feed to the host application 56 with Message Queue Interface(MQ), and a pull to a CTI database 58 from the system database 40. Theweb application server 24 maintains state with Cold Fusion sessionvariables and presents Cold Fusion Markup Language (CFML) pages to users60 over the Internet 62.

The rating engine 64, a Knowledge-Based Management System (KBMS) module66, and the KBMS database 68 reside on rating engine server 48. MQclient and process 80 to forward data to the host application 56 resideon the application server 24. The Oracle database 40 contains the systemdatabase. A small business database 72, agent locator 74, and boat/yachtrating databases are also on the database server 40. The rating engineserver 48 communicates through a socket connection on a pre-defined portnumber. The communication between the front-end 10 of the system and therating engine server 48 is implemented in Java. Remote Method Invocation(RMI) is a model of distributed object application and has a RMI server80 and RMI client 78. A typical server application creates some remoteobjects, makes references to them accessible, and waits for clients toinvoke methods on these remote objects. A typical client applicationgets a remote reference to one or more remote objects in the server andthen invokes methods on them. RMI provides the mechanism by which theserver 80 and the client 78 communicate and pass information back andforth.

In the application for an embodiment of the present invention, once theCold Fusion application 76 gets all of the input information from theuser 60, it passes the information as a string object through the RMIserver 80 in the web application server 24. The RMI server 80 thenactivates a C Dynamic Link Library (DLL) through Java Native Interface(JNI). The message is then passed to the MQSeries queue. The hostapplication 56 picks up the application message from the queue andformats the user information in a CSR screen for quick and accurateservice. This web server-to-mainframe host application message exchangemakes use of a three tier distributed model. This not only makes themessage exchange scalable and secure, it can also be reused in othersimilar application message exchanges with little or no modifications.The RMI server 80 on the middle tier server 50 uses a Java securitypolicy file to limit the RMI server's access on the server, sometimesreferred to as a “sandbox”. Besides using the three-tiered architecturefor application message passing, the security feature is restricted bythe Java2 platform. The RMI client 78 is digitally signed in order tocommunicate with the RMI server 80. This eliminates the risk ofunauthenticated access to the RMI server 80 in the web applicationserver 24.

The rating engine 64 utilized for the system of the present inventionis, for example, a proprietary rating engine developed by AgencyManagement System, Inc. and Lexitech. The KBMS module 66 is aproprietary knowledge-based management system developed by Lexitech.FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an overview of keycomponents and the flow of information between key components for anexample of the rating engine utilized for the system for an embodimentof the present invention. The rating engine server 48 provides a ratingsystem which allows a front-end provider to utilize ApplicativeReal-Time Programming (ART) rating to calculate premiums. Input for therating engine server 48 comes from the web application server 24.Communication between the rating engine server 48 and the webapplication server 24 is via a Transaction Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) direct connection. The Data Transfer Protocol (DTP)defines the format that the front-end provider must use to submit datato the rating engine server 48. The DTP is a proprietary communicationprotocol supported by Agency Management System, Inc. Thearchitecture/operating system for the rating engine 48, for example, isa 32-bit application under NT 4.0 server (with Service Pack 6A) withTCP/IP as the networking protocols. Hardware configuration requirementsinclude, for example, 48 Megs RAM memory, more than 1 GB hard disk withat least 500 MB free disk space, and two Pentium II Pro Processors, 300mhz CPUs. The development language used is Visual C++. With regard todata transfer, input or request data is packed in the DTP data bufferand sent into the rating system through the network. The output orresponse data has the same format.

The system for an embodiment of the present invention stores data in theOracle database 40 with Oracle database attributes. Data is passed, forexample, to and from the rating engine server 48. Data is also sent tothe host application 56. FIG. 4 is a chart which illustrates examples ofdata tables for the system of an embodiment of the present invention.Data tables include, for example, an Auto Quote table 100, a Coveragetable 102, a Driver table 104, a Driver Incident table 106, a DriverVehicle Usage table 108, a Model Name table 110, a Quote Survey table112, a Survey Answer table 114, a Survey Question table 116, a Symbtable 118, a Vehicle table 120, a VIN table 122, a Visit table 124, aVisitor table 126, a Visitor Filter table 128, a Queue table 130,various optional financial information tables 132, an Agent Distributiontable 134, a Current Carrier table 136, a Quote Switch table 138, and aZip Code table 140.

Retrieval and/or updating of data between the web application server 24and the Oracle database server 40 is secured with application level userID/passwords. Data transmission between the middleware RMI server 80 andthe mainframe host application 56 are secured via MQ security. Allcommunication paths are also secured via stateful inspection ofconversations by at least two firewall layers. Confidential data istransferred between the web application server 24, the rating engineserver 48, and the host 56. For communication between the webapplication server 24 and the user 60, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) isused. A copy of the VIN data is available on the Oracle database 40 forVIN lookups. Consumer data is stored in the Oracle database 40. Consumerinformation is forwarded and stored on the host 56 in the hostapplication and CTI 58 for CSR retrieval. Deployable content profile isstored in the Oracle database 40. Shadow password files are used toauthenticate users 60 for a deployable content administration tool.

Referring further to FIG. 3, the DTP is a communication protocol for anetwork services “listener” 84 supported by Agency Management System,Inc. In one aspect, the listener 84 rates and/or edits a policy image.The DTP can accept multiple sets of data from different data models withthe same set of actions performed on each for several companies. Inoperation, the listener 84 accepts a TCP/IP socket stream of data fromthe client program 86. The listener 84 executes the requested action onthe image and replies to the client 86 with another stream on the samesocket connection. The communication ends when the listener 84 closesthe socket. Each stream of data is made up of components in apredetermined order. A DTP request stream is made up of severalcomponents, always beginning with listener and instruction blocks.Following these blocks, there may be multiple data sets with multipletable blocks in each. The instructions are carried out upon each dataset.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram which illustrates an example of a datatransfer protocol visual model utilized for the system for an embodimentof the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, a listener block 150identifies the requester and its communications protocol. An instructionblock 152 comprises information that is used for all the othercomponents in the stream and is specific to DTP. A table block 154identifies the table, gives the record count and lists the records alongwith their length, which is potentially variable. With regard to thetables end marker 156, in order to signify the last table in the dataset is complete, a table ID that is equal to zero is sent. For the dataset end marker, in order to signify the last data set is complete, adata format ID that is equal to zero is sent. Returned data is in thesame format as the request data, with the listener and instructionblocks 150, 152 first. A new data set is returned for each combinationof group, data retrieval action and original data set. All the data setsfor a company are contiguous. All of the request data sets are alsotogether.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process ofgenerating a quote by the system for an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 6, at S1, the user 60 connects to the webserver 26, clicks on an icon, connects to the web application server 24,and enters data and coverages into the Cold Fusion pages. At S2, thesystem retrieves deployable content profile information from the Oracledatabase 40. At S3, if the user 60 enters a VIN, a database query isexecuted, and the automobile information is retrieved; otherwise a userselected make and model is used in conjunction with the VIN database 90to construct a VIN. At S4, the user 60 enters a request for a quote, andthe Java module 78 formats and transfers the user data to the ratingengine server 48.

Referring further to FIG. 6, at S5, the data is submitted to the KBMSmodule 66 and the KBMS database 68 to determine a tier. At S6, the KBMSdatabase 68 and KBMS module 66 return the tier to the rating engine 64.At S7, a quote is returned to the web application server 24 for displayon a Cold Fusion page. At S8, the Oracle MI database 92 is updated torecord the user information and premium. At S9, if the user 60 isinterested in continuing the quoting process, the host applicationprefill data is transferred to the rating engine server 48. At S10, theformatted data is transferred to the host application 56 via MQSeries.At S11, the host application 56 generates a host application number thatis returned through a MQSeries return queue. At S12, the hostapplication number is presented to the user 60 for reference duringcalls to the CSR. The host application number is also recorded in theOracle database 40. The data is transferred into the CTI Oracle database58.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart which illustrates another example of the processof generating a quote by the system for an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 7, at S20, the user 60 connects to the website 26, clicks on an icon, connects to the web application server 24,and enters data and coverages into Cold Fusion pages. At S21, if theuser 60 enters a VIN, a database query is executed and the autoinformation is retrieved. Otherwise, a user-selected make and model isused in conjunction with the VIN database to construct a VIN. At S22,the user 60 enters a request for a quote, and the Java module 78 formatsand transfers the user data to the rating engine server 48. At S23, thedata is submitted to the KBMS module 66 and the KBMS database 68 todetermine a tier. At S24, the KBMS database 68 and KBMS module 66 returnthe tier to the rating engine 64.

Referring again to FIG. 7, at S25, the quote is returned to the webapplication server 24 to be displayed on a Cold Fusion page. At S26, theOracle MI database 92 is updated to record the customer information andpremium. At 827, if the user 60 is interested in continuing the quotingprocess, the host application prefill data is transferred to the ratingengine server 48. At S28, the formatted data is transferred to the hostapplication 56 via MQSeries. At S29, the host application 56 generates ahost application number that is returned through a MQSeries returnqueue. At S30, the host application number is presented to the user 60for reference during calls to a CSR. The host application number is alsorecorded in the Oracle database 40. At S31, the data is transferred intothe CTI Oracle database 58.

In the on-line quote process for an embodiment of the present invention,the rates that are used, for example, are an underwriter's filed ratesthat are publicly available. However, instead of using the underwriter'srating engines that are back on the underwriter's host, an embodiment ofthe present invention makes use of a server based rating engine 64. Inother words, the underwriter copies its underwriting rules and movesthem to live on the server 48 that houses the rating engine 64 for itsunderwriting. Other aspects for an embodiment of the present inventioninclude, for example, on-line purchasing and on-line issuance ofinsurance products, such as auto insurance.

Another aspect of the method and system for an embodiment of the presentinvention includes co-branding the application for use, for example,with the underwriter's affinity partners. Deployable content allows theunderwriter to understand who comes in to use the application and toidentify the users. The co-branding aspect of the present inventioninvolves actually co-branding the web site with the underwriter's logo.The co-branding aspect provides the ability to customize presentationlayer marketing and to customize content to affinity groups. Inaddition, the deployable content aspect allows the system to directusers through to either CSRs, which are located in the underwriter'sservice center, or to selected agents.

The web site can be customized to work with either the underwriter'sexisting CSRs or through specified agents, through deployable content,because the system has profiles for each of the affinity accounts. Auser may be sent to an agent, as opposed to a CSR, because agentstypically have a higher close rate than CSRs. Further, the system cantarget down to a particular zip code level to which a quote goes and whowill process and close the quote and issue a policy. An advantage ofthat feature is that certain agents are Internet capable and understandhow to close an internet deal, while others are not. In the latter case,the system can route the leads directly to the underwriter's servicecenter.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of componentsof the deployable content functionality for an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system integrates functionality of deployable content,banner ads, and support for affinity groups. In addition, the system ofthe present invention implements functionality, such as saving andretrieving profile information from the database. The profileinformation is written to both database and flat files. FIG. 9 is a flowchart which illustrates an example of the process flow of the deployablecontent administration tool application for an embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, at S40, a business user 61launches the deployable content administration tool 160. The businessuser 61 enters a username and password to authenticate, and theadministration tool page is presented to business user 61. At S41, thescreen of the administration tool 160 is pre-filled with the data in theexisting flat files 162. At S42, the output of the administration tool160 is written to the flat files 162. At S43, the output of theadministration tool 160 is written to the database 40 as well.Authentication solutions for the deployable content administration tool160 include, for example, the use of shadow passwords and secure tokenIDs. A shadow password is a “hidden” file that stores all user passwordsand can be read only by root. It is a Unix method for controlling thecreation, use, and safe storage of passwords that involves the use ofshadow password files and is administered from the Unix infrastructure.The use of secure token IDs entails the creation of infrastructure touse smart cards.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the system likewiseperforms auto quotes online but with changes to the applicationfunctionality and infrastructure, such as changes in the technology inwhich the application is written. For example, the application for analternate embodiment of the invention uses Java and JavaServer Pages(JSPs). The system for an alternate aspect likewise connects to twooutside systems, namely the CTI system and the Excalibur hostapplication 56, but in the alternate aspect, the system also connects tothe host backend for rating, which is the gateway application CommonData Entry (CDE) system environment, and at the underwriter'sapplication that was previously connected to the AMS rating engine 48.In addition, the system of the alternate embodiment also connects to theunderwriter's host, which is the underwriter's mainframe 52, forInsurance Financial Score (IFS) scores that goes out to credit bureaussuch as ChoicePoint and TransUnion to get IFS scores. In the applicationfor an alternate embodiment, quotes are not anonymous, and because IFSscores are used, quotes are very accurate.

Another aspect in the functionality of the application for an alternateembodiment of the invention provides a process called Direct-to-Quote.In the Direct-to-Quote process, a user is not required to go throughevery single page in the application and enter what the user wants forcoverages. Instead, in the Direct-to-Quote process, some basic financialinformation is collected as with a Coverage Wizard, and the user isallowed to go directly to quote by clicking on a button. Thus, it is notnecessary for the user to go through the entire process of entering thecoverages that the user wants. The alternate aspect of the inventionintroduces application enhancements that form the cornerstone, forexample, of a personal lines consumer-centric strategy that enables thesuccessful distribution of personal lines automobile insurance productson the Internet. It is noted that personal lines comprises those typesof insurance, such as auto or home insurance, for individuals orfamilies rather than for businesses or organizations. The on-line quotesystem is marketed, for example, to visitors, for example, of anunderwriter's web site and affiliated sites such as Internet ServiceProviders (ISPs), financial institutions such as banks, and affinitycustomers.

In this aspect, five major business modules are provided to successfullydistribute personal lines products to consumers on the Internet. Thesemodules provide for the solicitation and sale of e-commerce businessthrough an Internet presence. A feature of this consumer-based Internetstrategy is the auto product lines. Other features can include, forexample, property and on-line service. This aspect of the on-line quotesystem for an alternate embodiment of the invention provides significantenhancement to the user experience, including improvements to wizards,data entry flow and new fields. The application for this aspect utilizesan object-oriented methodology and is written in Java, ISPs, HypertextMarkup Language (HTML), and JavaScript. In addition, this aspectprovides deployment flexibility (deployable content), such as theflexibility to tailor the on-line insurance quote system web site tospecific consumers in terms, for example, of graphics, content, rate,and routing, based on their location, affinity group membership or othercharacteristics.

This aspect of an embodiment of the present invention builds, forexample, upon the current application flow. The user enters driver,vehicle, and household information into the on-line quote system webpages. Once this information has been entered, the customer has, forexample, four different levels of assistance for selecting coverage. Onesuch level is the Coverage Wizard that can utilize financial dataentered by the customer to make coverage recommendations. Another levelof assistance is the Direct-to-Quote feature that generates coverageselections based on previously entered data. An additional level ofassistance allows the customer to use the Coverage Wizard to understandcoverage without entering financial information. In a further level, theuser can also choose to have no assistance and enter coverage withoutguidance. In one aspect of the present invention, the on-line quoteapplication is written in ColdFusion, HTML, JavaScript, Java, C, andC++, runs on Netscape Enterprise Server, and uses the AMS rating engine48 for rating automobile quotes, and the present aspect reuses many ofthe same components. Further, the present aspect uses object orientedmethodology in which objects are modeled after the business and can beextended and reused in other business initiatives as well as throughoutthe enterprise.

FIGS. 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c (referred to herein collectively as “FIG.10”) show a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of keycomponents and the flow of information between the key components forthis aspect of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 10, the application infrastructure for this aspectmakes use, for example, of the personal computer (PC) 200 of a customer202 coupled over a network, such as the Internet 204, to theunderwriter's web site server 206 and/or the on-line quote system website server 208, such as Internet Information Server (IIS) web serverrunning on Windows 2000 NT 4.0. In addition, this aspect utilizes, forexample, an authentication server 210, such as SiteServer LightweightDirectory Access Protocol (LDAP); an application server 212, such asBasic Programming Environment for Interactive-Graphical Applications(Macromedia) JRun application server running on Windows 2000; theunderwriter's mainframe computer 52, a Structured Query Language(SQL)Server database 216 for MI reporting; an on-line quote systemdatabase 218, such as Oracle database running on Solaris; a CTI database220, and outside data sources 222.

In this aspect, the application is separated into a presentation layer224, business-logic layer 226, and a data access layer 228. Further,this aspect provides connectivity to component based architecture, suchas CDE 230 services and components, and a migratory path to comply withpre-determined standards. Java and DSPs are used to develop theapplication, and the development tools include, for example, RationalRose for object modeling, Visual Café as the Integrated DevelopmentEnvironment (IDE), and Macromedia JRun as the application server 212.The IIS web server 208 contains all image files and HTML pages; the website 206 proxies all requests for JSPs to the application server 212;the Macromedia JRun application server 212 processes all JSP requests,and all business objects reside on the application server 212. Theapplication server 212 also sends all rating and quote upload requeststo CDE 230 and the Excalibur host application 56 via MQ. The Oracledatabase server 218 stores user quote data, and the SQLServer databaseserver 216 stores MI data. When the customer 202 requests the on-lineauto quote for this aspect of the invention, the system sends a requestto the CDE system 230 on the mainframe 52 for underwriting and rating.After receiving a quote, the consumer 202 can then talk to a propertylines CSR for purchasing and issuance of automobile insurance based onthe quote. The CSR has the ability to retrieve the data in the CTIdatabase 220 and the Excalibur host application 56 that was uploaded bythe system during a “Talk-to-Us” process.

This aspect of the on-line system and method for an embodiment of thepresent invention replaces several tactical architectural items withcomponents developed, for example, specifically with personal lines inmind and identified as strategic to the business workflow. In thisaspect includes, the system includes, for example, conversion tostrategic components for underwriting and rating functions. Thestrategic architectural components used include, for example, the CDErating process 230 instead of the server-based AMS rating engine 64 andthe server based KBMS underwriting engine 66. Further, the system forthis aspect utilizes support provided by CDE modular “Plug & Play” thatenables the system of the present invention and external on-line vendorsto rate through the CDE rating engine 230. For on-line purchase andbinding, the CDE components are used for sending information to thedownstream purchasing systems. Report ordering rule plan and reportevaluation is likewise provided through CDE 230. This aspect alsoprovides support for affinity and retail rates for quote and issue.

Significant enhancement to the user experience is provided in thisaspect, for example, by improvements to wizards, data entry flow and newfields. In addition, this aspect includes a “My Insurance” functionalitythat enables customers to save a quote and recall later and to completethe purchase of insurance during an on-line session without interactionwith a company representative using “Apply On-Line” functionality.Additional enhancements can include, for example, user security loginand authentication, “Talk to Us” feeds to CDE/Atlas III for e-agents,store and recall of quotes, “My Insurance,” and quotes are held for 30days. Further enhancements can include, for example, on-screencollection of additional information needed for policy issue, requestand processing of CLUE (driving incident) 232 and MVR (driving record)234 reports, down payment calculation, credit card authorization 236,payroll deduction, policy issue through CDE 230 into Safari/CARS(automated reconciliation system) 238. Other enhancements include, forexample, downstream feeds, down payment report, passing additional dataif the customer 202 selects “Talk to Us”, a facility to view consumerreport information upon referral, saving quotes purchased data to the MIdatabase 216, and replication of the MI database 216 for customerinquiries.

The on-line quote system for this aspect of the present invention isdelivered over the Internet 204, and the system web site 208 isaccessed, for example, via the underwriter's web site 206 andadvertising click-through and links from external sites. The system website 208 accommodates a number of browsers and versions of thosebrowsers, such as Internet Explorer 4.x or greater, NetscapeCommunicator 4.5 or greater, and all AOL browsers 4.x or greater.Customers for the on-line quote system include, for example, the generalpublic and affinity groups such as Costco, AAA, and the underwriter'semployees. Hours of availability for quote and issue are dependent onthe availability of required mainframe systems, and preferably thefunctionality is available 7×24. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is used forsecurity between the underwriter and the consumer 202.

In this aspect, the on-line quote system application continues toprefill and populate the Excalibur host application 56 (upload) and CTI220 (enhance existing feeds). The intended audience for this applicationis the general public, as well as affinity groups, such as Costco, AAA,and the underwriter's employees. This aspect for an embodiment of thepresent invention provides, for example, real-time access to the CDErating engine 230 residing on the mainframe 52, the use of the CoverageWizard to facilitate the quoting process by calculating recommendedcoverages based on the information supplied by the potential customer202, a Fast Path quoting facility for those who know what coverages theyneed, integration with the Excalibur host application 56, CTI and theunderwriter's personal lines downstream systems, and retention ofpertinent information in database format for use in MI reporting.

FIGS. 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c (referred to herein collectively as “FIG.11”) show a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process ofproviding a real time on-line quote for a consumer by the system andmethod for this aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, at S100, the user 202 at the user'scomputer 200 enters the underwriter's web site 206 and selects, forexample, “Request an e-Quote for Automobile”. At S102, after beingredirected to the on-line quote system web site 208, the user 202 beginsthe quoting process, in which an on-line quote system page request issent to the IIS web server 208. If the request is for a JSP page, therequest is forwarded to the application server 212 to be processed.Static HTML and image files are retrieved from the web server 208. AtS103, for any on-line quote system resources that are locked-down, theSiteServer LDAP 210 is used to authenticate the request via deployablecontent and the on-line quote system application 212. At S104, on theweb server 208, JSP file extensions are mapped to a WebLogic plug-in 240to be processed.

Referring further to FIGS. 10 and 11, at S105, the JRun plug-in 240sends the JSP request to the application server 212 to the IP and portthat is running JRun and listening for requests. At S106, the JSPrequest is processed on the application server 212. The on-line quotesystem application 212 follows an architectural model that separates thepresentation layer 224, business logic layer 226, and data access layer228. At S107, on-line quote system JAVA objects are instantiated andkept throughout the user session. At S108, JAVA data access objectsabstract the business layer 226 from the data access layer 228. At S109,the on-line quote system application 212 calls the CDE system 230 to getInsurance Financial Score (IFS) credit information. At S110, CDE 230receives an IFS credit request from the on-line quote system application212 and invokes its IFS credit transaction. At S111, CDE 230 calls areport ordering warehouse 242 to order an IFS report.

Referring again to FIGS. 10 and 11, at S112, the report orderingwarehouse 242 sends the request, for example, to ChoicePoint (IFS creditinformation) 244 to get the credit information. At S113, the IFS creditresults are sent back to the on-line quote system application 212. AtS114, after the user 202 enters more information, and the CDE ratingengine 230 is called from the on-line quote system application 212,passing data via MQ for each rating request. At S115, CDE 230 receivesthe rating request from the on-line quote system application 212 andinvokes its rating transaction. At S116, the KBMS module 66 determines acorrect pricing tier. At S117, CDE 230 sends data to the CARSreconciliation system 238 for underwriting knockouts, completeness, andrating. At S118, rating results are sent back via MQ to the on-linequote system application 212.

Referring still further to FIGS. 10 and 11, at S119, after returningfrom the CDE rating engine 230, the on-line quote system application 212saves user data entered before the rating as well as rating results.Data is sent to the on-line quote system database 218, for example, froma bad credit score message to be saved, as well. At S120, if the user202 wishes to talk to a property lines CSR, the on-line quote systemapplication 212 sends user data to the Excalibur system 56 on themainframe 52 via MQSeries and adds user data to a table in the on-linequote system database 218. Data is sent to the Excalibur hostapplication 56 for each customer upload request. At S121, CTI pulls thedata from the on-line quote system database 218 into the CTI database220. At S122, data is returned to the on-line quote system application212 from the Excalibur host application 56. At S123, HTML is sent backto the browser on the user's PC 200. At S124, each week, the week'stransactions are sent to the on-line quote system MI database 216.

Deployable content for this aspect of an embodiment of the inventionprovides the flexibility to tailor the on-line quote system web site 208to specific consumers in terms, for example, of graphics, content, andrating, based on their location, affinity group membership or othercharacteristics. Deployable content for this aspect also provides, forexample, historical tracking of deployable content updates. Profiles arenot overlaid, allowing business to review profile history as well asrollback to a previous version. Audit trail of deployable contentchanges is also provided in this aspect. In this aspect, deployablecontent is secured using SiteServer LDAP 210, and user IDs areassociated with profile updates. In addition, audit requirements are metby preventing the same user from ‘signing off’ and then ‘activating’ aprofile. Migration between environments is provided in this aspect, andISCMS is used to migrate scheduled changes through environments toproduction. For deployable content administration tool authentication,SiteServer LDAP 210 is used to lock-down the deployable content site,and only authorized users are allowed to update deployable content data.Further, the deployable content tool is distributed only in theunderwriter's secure zone 246, accessible only by the underwriter'semployees.

FIG. 12 is a table that shows examples of hardware utilized in theon-line quote system and method for an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 13 is a table that shows examples of softwareutilized in the on-line quote system and method for an alternateembodiment of the present invention. In this aspect, communicationbetween the on-line quote system application 212, CDE 230, and theExcalibur host application 56 occurs through MQ using MQSeries Clientfor Java v3.0 which employs the native MQ libraries. Communicationbetween the on-line quote system application 212 and CTI occurs througha stored procedure call from CTI to the on-line quote system database218. The operating system and the infrastructure components for thisaspect include, for example, Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1300—Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.0 302 for the web server 208,Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1 304—Macromedia Jrun 3.02 for theapplication server 212, Sun Solaris 2.6 Kernel Patch Revision 21308—Oracle Server Enterprise Edition—Version 8.1.6 310 for the databaseserver 218, and Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1 312—Microsoft SQLServerVersion 7.0 314 for the MI database server 216.

For data deployment in this aspect of the invention, user data, such asdriver, auto, and household data, is sent to the on-line quote systemOracle database 218 to be stored; IFS user credit data retrieved fromCDE 230 is stored in the on-line quote system Oracle database 218; andrating results received from CDE 230 are stored in the on-line quotesystem Oracle database 218. Excalibur upload results received from theExcalibur host application 56 are stored in the on-line quote systemOracle database 218. Online quote system MI data is copied from theon-line quote system Oracle database 218 and stored in the MI SQLServerdatabase 216 through the linked server process of SQLServer.

In this aspect of the present invention, the CDE Rating Engine 230 sendsconsumer information and receives back IFS credit information and ratingresults, which enables transactions to perform at or better than the AMSrating engine 64. Backup and recovery are provided for the IIS WebServer 208. The application server 212, Oracle database server 218, andSQLServer database server 216 are backed-up and disaster recovery plansare put in place in adherence to pre-determined standards. PermanentVirtual Circuit (PVCS) version control and configuration managementsoftware is used for all source and object code storage, and ISCMS isused for version change management and migration through testenvironments into production. Data is updated at the conclusion of eachsession and after the CDE rating transaction returns, and purge criteriaare also provided. A “hot backup” is performed daily. A subset of theon-line quote system application tables is created in SQLServer for MIpurposes. Data is copied over weekly from the on-line quote systemOracle database 218 using SQLServer's “linked server” process. Businesscustomers utilize the data for reporting purposes using, for example,Cognos Impromptu to create MI reports.

Security information that is classified as confidential includes, forexample, information about customers, employees (including payroll andother compensation, medical, performance reviews, social securitynumbers, and home addresses and phone numbers) and financial institutionbusiness for which protection is obligatory, with local laws takingprecedence; all production information; voice mail access codes;internal and external audit reports; regulatory agency reports (unlessspecified reports are classified by the regulatory agency as publicinformation); logs and reports produced by security services; andinformation that the business unit determines has potential forproviding competitive advantage. The on-line quote system applicationcaptures confidential data including the user's name and address. Also,if users choose to base their auto coverage on their personal financialdata, information such as total household income and total value ofassets is also collected. In addition, a user's social security numberis collected and credit declination reasons are shown to the user 202.This data is stored in the on-line quote system Oracle database 218.

For the authentication process in this aspect of the on-line quotesystem for an embodiment of the invention, anonymous access is used toaccess the on-line quote system site 208. SiteServer LDAP 210 securityis used to lock-down the deployable content site that remains in theunderwriter's secure zone 246. With respect to the authorizationprocess, the web server 208 has an ID and password for on-line quotesystem anonymous access, and the application server 212 accepts onlyrequests from the web server 208. Retrieval and updating of data betweenthe application server 212 and the Oracle database server 218 is securedwith an application level ID and password. CDE 230 and Excalibur hostapplication 56 MQ transactions are secured using Real Time Support'sSecurity Exit for JAVA. The connection is secured by a Resource AccessControl Facility (RACF) ID and password exchanged during the connection,and the ID and password are encrypted and self-maintained. The MISQLServer database 216 is updated from the Oracle database 218 through ascheduled job that follows pre-determined security standards. The siteuses Secure Socket Layer (SSL).

With regard to auditing and monitoring, all possible communicationprocesses are monitored via a monitoring infrastructure including, forexample, IIS Web Server's ability to proxy JSP requests to theapplication server, connectivity between the application server 212 andCDE 230/Excalibur 56, connectivity between the application server 212and the Oracle database server 218, connectivity between the on-linequote system Oracle database 218 and the CTI Oracle database 220, andconnectivity between the Oracle database 218 and the SQLServer database216. The areas involved in security administration include, for example,Data Administrator (DA) and Information Systems (IS) security The IDsutilized include, for example, the ID on the web server 208 for on-linequote system anonymous access, read only. The application server 212 hasan ID/password of Oracle database server 218 for application access. Theapplication server 212 has MQ Security Exit program with the RACF IDthat has read permission on the MQ queues. The MI SQLServer database 216has an ID/password of the Oracle database 218 for linked server access.

FIGS. 14-35 show examples of Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens forthe on-line quote system for an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 36 a, 36 b, 36 c, and 36 d (referred to collectivelyherein as “FIG. 36”) show a schematic flow chart which provides furtherdetail regarding the on-line quote process using the sample GUI screensshown in FIGS. 14-35. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 36, at S150, the user202 logs on to the website 208, and at S151, the user 202 selects“Request an e-Quote” 300 on an “Auto, Home and More” page 302. Referringto FIGS. 15 and 36, at S152, the user 202 can then enter a selection forauto insurance 304 on a “Request an E-Quote” page 306. Referring toFIGS. 16 and 36, at S153, a “State” page 308 is displayed for the user202 on which the user 202 enters the state 310 in which the user 202 isinterested in getting a quote. At that point, referring to FIGS. 17 and36, the system gathers some basic information 312 on a “BackgroundInformation” page 314 at SS154, such as the number of drivers 316, thenumber of vehicles 318, the user's current policy expiration 320, andthe user's current premiums 322. The user 202 then proceeds to a “DriverInformation” page 324 at S155, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 36, on whichdriver information 326, such as who the user 202 is, can be collected.Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 36, a “Prenotification” page 328 isdisplayed at S156, and accident and violation information 330 iscollected on a “Driver Details” page 332 at S157, as shown in FIGS. 20and 36. Thus, the user's information is collected up front rather thanat the end of the process, so the quote process is not anonymous.

Continuing with the example, as the user 202 proceeds through theapplication, at S158, the user 202 enters a vehicle VIN 334 on an “AutoInformation” page 336 as shown in FIGS. 21 and 36, model information 338on a “Vehicle Model Information” page 340 at S159 as shown in FIGS. 22and 36, vehicle detail information 342 on a “Vehicle Model Details” page344 at S160 as shown in FIGS. 23 and 36, and vehicle driver information346 on an “Additional Auto Information” page 348 at S161 as shown inFIGS. 24 and 36. Referring to FIGS. 25 and 36, at S162, the user 202arrives at a point where the user is presented, for example, with fouroptions on a “Coverage Options” page 350. One option is selection of the“Coverage Wizard” 352 at S163 on which the user 202 enters some basicinformation, such as whether the user 202 has vehicle coverage fortowing and the like, and basic financial information, such as how muchthe user 202 has available to pay for a claim if a claim arises. Whenthe user 202 enters that information, the user 202 then can elect anoption to go through the “Direct-to-Quote” process 354 at S164, which isfunctionality provided by the alternate embodiment of the invention, orthe user 202 can proceed through the Coverage Wizard process 352 inwhich the system recommends different coverages for the user 202.

Based upon the information entered by the user 202, the system for analternate embodiment of the invention makes recommendations, and theuser 202 can follow through and either make modifications or simplyaccept what the system pre-fills for the user 202. The other two optionsare manual in which the user 202 is required to go through and enterselections for every item. For example, if the user 202 has a policysetting in front of him or her, the user 202 can elect an option to makethe users own selections without help 356 and go through the particularfact path and simply enter whatever the user 202 wants. On the otherhand, the user 202 can elect an option to make the users own selectionswith explanations of coverages 358, and the user 202 is provided withadditional information which explains all the coverages in a great dealof detail for the user 202. The user 202 can enter coverages selections,for example, for bodily injury 360 and liability 362 coverage on a“Policy Liability Coverages” page 364 shown in FIG. 26, uninsured 366and underinsured 368 motorist coverage on an “Uninsured/UnderinsuredCoverages” page 370 shown in FIG. 27, medical payments coverage 372 on a“Medical Coverages” page 374 shown in FIG. 28, collision 376 andcomprehensive 378 coverage on a “Physical Damage Coverage” page 380shown in FIG. 29, and additional coverages 382 on an “AdditionalCoverage” page 384 shown in FIG. 30.

In the system for an alternative embodiment of the present invention,following selection of the coverages, the user 202 is prompted to enteranswers to underwriting questions 386 on an “Underwriting Information”page 388 at S166 as shown in FIGS. 31 and 36 and is thereafter providedwith information 390 on a “Statement of Understanding” page 392 at S167as shown in FIGS. 32 and 36. All four of the options 352, 354, 356, and358, take the user 202 to a quote 394 displayed on a “Your E-Quote” page396 at S168 as shown in FIGS. 33 and 36. From the “Your E-Quote” page396, the user 202 can select a “See More Details” option 398 and bepresented with a summary of driver information 400, summary of vehicleinformation 402, and a quote summary 404 on an “E-Quote Detail” page 406at S169 as shown in FIGS. 34 and 36. The quote summary 404 is a highlevel view of details of the selected coverages and what the user 202will be paying, for example, per year, and the system also provides theuser 202 with different options at that point, as well. For example, theuser 202 can click on a “Talk To Us” button 408, which allows the systemto upload the data to a backend system and provide the user with phonenumbers 410 which the user 202 can call to speak to either theunderwriter's CSRs or an agent on a “Thank You” page 412 at S170 asshown in FIGS. 35 and 36.

An alternate embodiment of the present invention also providesfunctionality which enables the user 202 to go back and modify any item,for example, by clicking on “Explore Your Options” 414 from the “E-QuoteDetail” page 406. A navigation bar built into the application allows theuser 202 to go back and modify any item at any point in time. Anotherfunctionality provided by an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention is referred to as “Fast Forward”. For example, if the user 202goes all the way through to a quote and then goes back and enters amodification, such as adding a driver, when the user 202 goes back tothe appropriate page to add the new driver, the user 202 can click on a“Fast Forward” button. When the user 202 clicks the “fast forward”button, the system only requires the user 202 to go to the pages in theapplication that require additional information from the user 202. Thus,the system stops only on pages that are affected by the newly enteredinformation, and it is not necessary for the user 202 to actually gothrough every single page again.

This aspect of the on-line quote system for an embodiment of the presentinvention enables delivery of the on-line quote application 212 tomarket on the public Internet faster. Aside from the pure marketingaspects, such as providing an on-line coverage counselling tool,real-time quoting, update of host systems, and the like, there areserious financial implications for the underwriter's personal lines, aswell. In the past, for example, consumers provided data at theunderwriter's web site 208 (and co-branded affinity web sites) that wasemailed to the underwriter's telemarketing office for processing.Processors then printed the request, processed a quote for the consumerand sent the completed quote back to the consumer via email. Thisprocess generally took several days and was very expensive for theunderwriter in terms of cost per quote processed and cost per policyactually converted.

Deployment of the on-line quote application 212 for this aspect of anembodiment of the present invention substantially reduces theseprocessing expenses and also has implications on the sales side of theequation. The on-line quote system of the present inventionsubstantially reduces call time on every sale and enables theunderwriter, for example, to significantly increase on-line advertisingefforts. In addition to financial restrictions, past systems also hadconstraints in terms of capacity concerns in that enormous manpower wasrequired for processing the volume of leads generated via on-lineadvertising, partnerships and ties, for example, with web sites of afinancial institution, such as a bank. Implementation of this aspect ofthe on-line quote application 212 of the present invention removes thisas an issue going forward. In addition, other aspects, such as realtime, on-line quotes for property insurance can also be implemented.

The deployment of such a property lines Internet strategy utilizing theon-line quote system for an embodiment of the present invention providesInternet capabilities that enable personal lines to sell and serviceautomobile insurance policies through a process that is less expensive,simpler and faster. These capabilities provide, for example, flexibledeployment that can leverage both the underwriter's and one or moreaffiliated financial institution's brands and develop on-line thirdparty brand names, such as Quicken, InsWeb, and Quotesmith; benefitsproperty lines sales across all channels, such as retail, affinitymarketing, call center, and direct; address all phases of the salesprocess, such as data capture, underwriting, pricing, proposal,acceptance and issue; and provides for differences in consumerpreferences and behaviors.

The on-line quote system for an embodiment of the present invention canmake the sale of automobile policies less expensive by eliminating laboracquisition costs for policies bought on-line and significantly reducingthe acquisition costs for policies shopped on-line and bought off-line;transferring the responsibility for the accurate collection and input ofdata to the end consumer; and reducing the amount of time required tomake new call center or agency employees productive. In addition, theon-line quote system for an embodiment of the invention can make thesale of automobile policies simpler by providing education andcounselling for the consumer to better understand the product andbolster their confidence in a purchase decision and retooling thecurrent process to differentiate quoting from purchase and collectinformation at the appropriate time in the process. Further, the on-linequote system of the present invention can make the sale of automobilepolicies faster by providing the ability to complete the purchase duringan on-line session for those who wish to purchase on-line; makingconsumer input data available in real-time to closing agents for thosewho wish to purchase off-line and quickly connecting the consumer tothose agents; and reducing the amount of “talk” time and after-callprocessing time required for the sale of a policy.

Various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described infulfillment of the various objects of the invention. It should berecognized that these embodiments are merely illustrative of theprinciples of the present invention. Numerous modifications andadaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method of furnishing areal-time, on-line quote for an insurance product for a customer by aninsurance company, comprising: presenting to the customer, by an on-linequote system application providing computer executable instructionsexecuted by a computer, an assistance feature comprising a coveragelimit recommendations feature; receiving from the customer at acomputing device basic customer information, by the on-line quote systemapplication via an on-line quote system web server, wherein said basiccustomer information comprises background information about the customerand information about an item to be insured, and wherein the customer isnot required to be an existing customer having a current insurancepolicy with the insurance company; determining, by the on-line quotesystem application, coverage limit recommendations for the customerbased on the basic customer information received from the customer;presenting, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limitrecommendations to the customer; receiving, by the on-line quote systemapplication, a coverage limit amount selection for at least oneinsurance coverage from the customer responsive to the coverage limitrecommendations; receiving rating information for the customer from arating engine by the on-line quote system application responsive to thebasic customer information received from the customer; determining, bythe on-line quote system application, a quote for the customer for saidat least one insurance coverage, responsive to the basic customerinformation received from the customer, the coverage limit amountselection, underwriting information, and the rating information receivedfrom the rating engine; and transmitting the quote to the customer bythe on-line quote system application via the on-line quote system webserver.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said assistance featurefurther comprises a coverage choices feature, and wherein the methodfurther comprises: determining, by the on-line quote system application,coverage limit choices based on the basic customer information receivedfrom the customer; and presenting, by the on-line quote systemapplication, the coverage limit choices to the customer, wherein thecoverage limit choices comprise two or more coverage limit choices forthe at least one insurance coverage, wherein said receiving the coveragelimit amount selection further comprises receiving, by the on-line quotesystem application, a coverage limit amount selection from the two ormore coverage limit choices.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein receivingfrom the customer the basic customer information further comprisesredirecting the customer to the on-line quote system web server by anunderwriter's web server.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingproviding by the on-line quote system application a fast-forward featurethat displays only pages in the on-line quote system application for thecustomer that are affected by a modification received from the customerto a previous entry.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the rating enginedetermines underwriting knockouts, completeness, and a rating by areconciliation system.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisinguploading quote-related information for the customer to a backend systemand providing the customer with a telephone number for a customerservice representative or agent by the on-line quote system applicationvia the on-line quote system web server, if an indication of thecustomer's continued interest in the quote is received by the on-linequote system application.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein saiduploading the quote-related information for the customer to the backendsystem further comprises storing the quote-related information for thecustomer in an on-line quote system database by the on-line quote systemapplication.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: retrieving bythe on-line quote system application deployable content from adeployable content database including deployable content profiles forthe customer responsive to the basic customer information entered by thecustomer; and supplementing the basic customer information with thedeployable content by the on-line quote system application.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the deployable content from the customer isresponsive to at least one of the customer's geographic location and thecustomer's affinity group association.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the assistance feature generates state-specific coveragerecommendations for the customer responsive to state information enteredby the customer.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receivingfrom the customer a request to purchase the insurance product associatedwith the quote by the on-line quote system application, withoutinteraction with a company representative.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising issuing the insurance product associated with thequote by the on-line quote system application, without interaction witha company representative.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:requesting by the on-line quote application, responsive to the basicinformation received from the customer, additional information about thecustomer from a third party data source; receiving the additionalinformation from the third party data source; and receiving said ratinginformation for the customer from the rating engine responsive to thebasic customer information received from the customer and the additionalinformation received from the third party data source.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the additional information comprises at least one ofcredit history reports, driving incident reports, claim history reports,motor vehicle record reports, purchasing information for the customer,credit card information, and an insurance financial score.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said determining the quote further comprisesdetermining the quote for the customer for said at least one insurancecoverage responsive to the basic customer information received from thecustomer, the coverage limit amount selection, the underwritinginformation, the rating information received from the rating engine, andan insurance financial score.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein thecustomer is not an existing customer of the insurance company.
 17. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising presenting, by the on-line quotesystem application, additional coverage limit choices to the customer,wherein the additional coverage limit choices comprise an option of nocoverage.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the insurance productcomprises a vehicle insurance product.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one insurance coverage comprises at least one ofbodily injury liability coverage, property damage coverage, uninsuredmotorist bodily injury coverage, underinsured motorist bodily injurycoverage, medical payments coverage, physical damage coverage, towingcoverage, extended transportation expense coverage, and loan/lease gapcoverage.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein said basic customerinformation further comprises financial information about the customer.21. The method of claim 1, wherein said presenting the coverage limitrecommendations to the customer further comprises presenting apre-filled coverage limit amount, which can be modified or accepted bythe customer.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the pre-filledcoverage limit amount is no coverage.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein the pre-filled coverage limit amount comprises a deductibleamount for the coverage.
 24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, by the on-line quote system application, a plurality ofcoverages for the customer based on the basic customer informationreceived from the customer, wherein said determining the coverage limitrecommendations further comprises determining, by the on-line quotesystem application, the coverage limit recommendations for at least oneof the plurality of coverages.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein: saidpresenting the coverage limit recommendations further comprisespresenting, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limitrecommendations for the at least one of the plurality of coverages tothe customer; said receiving the coverage limit amount selection furthercomprises receiving, by the on-line quote system application, thecoverage limit amount selection for at least one insurance coverage fromthe customer responsive to the coverage limit recommendations for the atleast one of the plurality of coverages; and said determining the quotefurther comprises determining, by the on-line quote system application,the quote for the customer for said insurance product, responsive to thebasic customer information received from the customer, the coveragelimit amount selection, the underwriting information, and the ratinginformation received from the rating engine.
 26. A computer system forfurnishing a real-time, on-line quote for an insurance product for acustomer by an insurance company, comprising: an insurance processingcomputer system in communication with an electronic network and at leastone database, wherein the insurance processing computer systemcomprises: an on-line quote system application, implemented by theinsurance processing computer system, that presents to the customer anassistance feature comprising a coverage limit recommendations feature;wherein the on-line quote system application receives, via an on-linequote system web server from the customer at a computing device, basiccustomer information, comprising background information about thecustomer and information about an item to be insured, and wherein thecustomer is not required to be an existing customer having a currentinsurance policy with the insurance company; wherein the on-line quotesystem application determines coverage limit recommendations for thecustomer based on the basic customer information received from thecustomer; wherein the on-line quote system application presents thecoverage limit recommendations to the customer; wherein the on-linequote system application receives a coverage limit amount selection forat least one insurance coverage from the customer responsive to thecoverage limit recommendations; wherein the on-line quote systemapplication receives rating information for the customer from a ratingengine responsive to the basic customer information received from thecustomer; wherein the on-line quote system application determines aquote for the customer for said at least one insurance coverage,responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer,the coverage limit amount selection, underwriting information, and therating information received from the rating engine; and wherein theon-line quote system application transmits the quote to the customer viathe on-line quote system web server.
 27. The system of claim 26, whereinsaid assistance feature further comprises a coverage choices feature,and wherein the on-line quote system application executes the followingcomputer instructions: determines coverage limit choices based on thebasic customer information received from the customer; presents thecoverage limit choices to the customer, wherein the coverage limitchoices comprise two or more coverage limit choices for the at least oneinsurance coverage; and receives a coverage limit amount selection fromthe two or more coverage limit choices.
 28. The system of claim 26,wherein the on-line quote system application redirects the customer tothe on-line quote system web server by an underwriter's web server toreceive the basic customer information from the customer.
 29. The systemof claim 26, wherein the on-line quote system application provides afast-forward feature that displays only pages in the on-line quotesystem application for the customer that are affected by a modificationreceived from the customer to a previous entry.
 30. The system of claim26, wherein the on-line quote system application issues the insuranceproduct associated with the quote without interaction with a companyrepresentative.
 31. The system of claim 26, wherein the on-line quotesystem application determines the quote for the customer for said atleast one insurance coverage responsive to the basic customerinformation received from the customer, the coverage limit amountselection, the underwriting information, the rating information receivedfrom the rating engine, and an insurance financial score.
 32. The systemof claim 26, wherein the customer is not an existing customer of theinsurance company.
 33. The system of claim 27, wherein the on-line quotesystem application presents additional coverage limit choices to thecustomer, wherein the additional coverage limit choices comprise anoption of no coverage.
 34. The system of claim 26, wherein the on-linequote system application determines a plurality of coverages for thecustomer based on the basic customer information received from thecustomer, and wherein the on-line quote system application determinesthe coverage limit recommendations for at least one of the plurality ofcoverages.